Managing tabs

Tabs can be renamed, pinned or organized into named, colored groups. See Tabs & split panes for opening tabs and splitting the window.

Pane groups and named groups

A named group in a tab bar and a pane's tab group belong to different levels:

Concept	Scope
Pane's tab group	All tabs in one pane. Each split pane has its own tab bar and active tab; see Tab group numbers for its number badge
Named group	A consecutive set of tabs within one tab bar, with a name, color, and collapsed state. A pane can contain several named groups

Pinned tabs cannot join a named group. Custom tab names, pinned states, and groups are saved with the window session and included in layouts.

Renaming a tab

A custom name changes the tab title without renaming the folder. The tab keeps this name when you navigate to another folder.

1. Double-click the tab title, or right-click the tab and choose Rename….
2. Type a new name.
3. Press Enter to save. Clicking outside the field also saves; press Esc to cancel.

To return to a name that follows the current folder, right-click the tab and choose Restore Automatic Name. You can also start renaming, clear the field, and save.

Pinning tabs

Right-click a frequently used tab and choose Pin Tab. Pinned tabs have a pin marker, stay at the beginning of the tab bar, and have no close button. Choose Unpin Tab to unpin one.

Action	Default shortcut
Pin or unpin the current tab	Alt+P
Pin or unpin the current tab in Vim mode	gp

Close Other Tabs, Close Tabs to the Left, and Close Tabs to the Right skip pinned tabs. In a vertical tab bar, the corresponding directional entries are Close Tabs Above and Close Tabs Below.

Note

A pinned tab can still be closed with a middle-click, the close shortcut, or Close Tab in its context menu. Pinning only protects it from closing with other tabs through the “other” and directional close commands.

Selecting multiple tabs

Select multiple tabs to group, move, or close them together within one tab bar. The active tab is always part of the selection.

Action	How (Windows / Linux)
Add or remove one tab	Hold Ctrl and click the tab; the active tab cannot be removed
Select a range	Hold Shift and click another tab to select the range from the active tab to that tab
Clear the selection	Press Esc, or click a tab without a modifier
Close the selected tabs	Press Ctrl+W, or right-click a selected tab and choose the close entry showing the tab count

On macOS, use ⌘+click for multiple selection and ⌘+W to close. Tab switching still uses Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab.

When you right-click a selected tab, grouping and closing commands apply to the selection, and their labels show the count. Right-clicking a tab outside the selection clears it and targets that tab instead. Switching tabs with a shortcut also clears the selection.

Using named groups

Creating and editing a group

1. Right-click an unpinned tab.
2. Choose Add Tab to New Group.
3. Type a group name and press Enter to save.

To add several tabs at once, select them, right-click an unpinned tab in the selection, and choose Add N Tabs to New Group.

Right-click the group title to change its name or color and manage its members:

Menu item	What it does
Rename Group…	Changes the group name; double-clicking the group title does not start renaming
Color dots	Chooses one of nine colors for the group title, background, and member tabs
Collapse Group / Expand Group	Hides or shows member tabs; clicking the group title also toggles this
New Tab in Group	Adds a new tab at the end of the group
Ungroup	Removes the group and keeps its tabs open
Close Group	Closes every tab in the group

Create the Work group, add a second tab, then collapse and expand it before dragging the whole group to the right to split the pane.

When you collapse a group containing the active tab, tessoa first switches to a visible tab outside it. If no such tab is available, the group stays expanded. Tab-switching shortcuts skip members of collapsed groups.

Moving tabs into and out of groups

Right-click an unpinned tab and use Move Tab to Group to choose an existing group in the same tab bar. A grouped tab also offers Move Tab to Group → New Group and Remove from Group. These commands support multiple selection.

You can also drag a tab or a selection of tabs into a group. Release on a collapsed group title to join that group; drag outside the group's bounds to leave it.

Moving a whole group

Dragging a group title moves all its members. The group temporarily collapses while being dragged and returns to its previous collapsed or expanded state after you release it.

Drop target	Result
Another position in the current tab bar	Reorders the whole group without splitting other groups
Another pane's tab bar or content area in the current window	Moves the whole group to that pane
A split preview at a pane edge	Places the whole group in a new split pane

Dragging a whole group preserves the group itself and does not merge it into another named group. To combine members, select the member tabs and use Move Tab to Group. If the window has one pane and every tab belongs to this group, the whole group cannot be split off on its own.

Note

Whole groups and multiple selections can only be dragged within the current window. Move tabs individually to another window or drag them out to create a window; see Dragging tabs elsewhere. If the selection contains both pinned and unpinned tabs, only tabs of the same type as the one you drag move with it.

Using a vertical tab bar

Setting the tab bar position

Open Settings → Layout → Tab Bar and set Tab Bar Position to Top, Left, or Right. The left and right positions arrange tabs vertically.

Each pane can also choose its own position:

1. Right-click a tab or an empty part of the tab bar in the pane you want to change.
2. Open the Tab Bar Position submenu.
3. Choose Top, Left, or Right. Choose Follow Setting to return to the global position; the current global value appears in parentheses.

A window can contain horizontal and vertical tab bars at the same time. Global Setting in the submenu changes the global position without overriding panes that have an individual position.

Resizing and auto-hiding

Drag the edge of the vertical tab bar nearest the content area to resize it. Width and auto-hide are global preferences; position can be set separately for each pane.

Enable Auto-Hide Tab Bar to collapse the bar into tiles showing the beginning of each title. It expands when the pointer hovers over it and collapses when the pointer leaves. The expanded bar overlays the content, keeping the file list in place.

Hover over the collapsed vertical bar to reveal tab names. Move the pointer away to collapse it without shifting the content.

Toggle auto-hide in Settings, in the tab bar's Tab Bar Position context submenu, or with the pin button at the top of the vertical bar. When the bar is collapsed, hover to expand it before clicking the pin button. Turn off auto-hide before resizing the bar.

Tab bar settings

These options are under Settings → Layout → Tab Bar:

Setting	What it does
Tab Width	Chooses Full Name or Shrink for horizontal tabs
Tab Overflow	Chooses Wrap Rows or Scroll when horizontal tabs do not fit; vertical tabs always scroll vertically
Show Close Button on Tabs	On by default; turning it off hides × while keeping middle-click, the close shortcut, and the context menu available
Switch Tabs on Hover	Off by default; when enabled, moving the pointer over a tab activates it without a click

Hover switching does not change which pane has keyboard focus. It is inactive while dragging or while Settings, the app menu, or a context menu is open.

See also

Tabs & split panes · Layouts & workspaces · Settings overview · Keyboard shortcuts